Beijing Capital International AirportDatong is a medium-sized city for China with a population of 3 million, and is therefore reasonably well connected, especially from Beijing. Below we cover transport to and within this central northern China city.
See our Datong Attraction pages for specific transportation to the sights, like the Hanging Monastery and Yungang Grottoes.
How to Get to Datong from Beijing
Datong is about 350 km (210 mi) west of Beijing. If you want to travel to Datong on your China tour, it would be best to get to Datong from Beijing.
By Flight
- Beijing Capital International Airport is the most important and the biggest airport in China.
We offer a flight search service for you to find and book flights.
By Train
- Beijing Railway Station and Beijing West Railway Station serve 5 and 4 trains daily to Datong respectively, taking 6 or 7 hours.
- Zhangjiakou South Railway Station serve 19 trains daily to Datong respectively, taking 2 hour 30 minutes or 3 hours. (The High-speed train between Zhangjiakou and Datong will be officially opened by the end of December 2019. By then, the travel time between Beijing to Zhangjiakou will be shorten from 6 hours to 100 minutes and the travel time from Zhangjiakou and Datong will be shorten from 3 hours to 1 hour.)
We offer a very popular train search service for you to select and order your train tickets.
To Datong by Air
Datong Yungang Airport is about 15 kilometers(9 miles) from downtown Datong. Flights to China's major cities, including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Chengdu are available.
Airport Buses
There are free airport shuttle buses from downtown Datong to Datong Airport.
Route: Datong Hotel – Datong Continental Hotel –Yingbin Dong Road Civil Aviation Ticket Office – Datong Airport.
To Datong by Railway
China bullet trainDomestic railways go to Beijing, Zhangjiakou, Hangzhou, Hohhot, Baotou, and Taiyuan, and international railways go to Ulan Bator and Moscow, which makes its railway transportation quite convenient for north China.
Datong Railway Station, 4 Zhanqian Street, can be easily reached by 601 buses.
Purchase train tickets at the railway station itself, railway ticket offices in the city's suburbs, or with our popular online ticket service or app that includes ticket delivery - avoid those lines!
Long-Distance Buses to Datong
The highway network surrounding Datong is well-developed, with more than ten main highways stretching to almost all parts of China.
There are four long-distance bus stations in the city:
- Datong South Long-Distance Bus Station(20 Yantong West Road) mainly operates buses to major cities of China including Beijing, Tangshan, Shijiazhuang, Qianjiang of Chongqing, Jinan, Luoyang, Baoding, Baochang, Hohhot, and Baotou.
- Datong North Long-Distance Bus Station (200 meters west of Datong Railway Station) mainly runs buses to Taiyuan and Shuozhou. Take bus 18, 28, or 65 to Stadium(体育场站), or 2, 15, 18, 28, 61, 65, or 601 to Third People's Hospital (三医院站).
- Datong Xinpingwang Long-Distance Bus Station (100 meters south of the Mining Affairs Bureau Department Store) mainly runs buses to other cities, counties, and townships in Shanxi Province, as well as Beijing.Buses 1, 6, 9, 12, 19, 24, 31, 36, and 46 go to this bus station.
- Datong Xinnan Long-Distance Bus Station (699 South Xinjian Road) mainly runs buses to Taiyuan, Shuozhou, and Beijing. Use bus 1, 11, 28, 30, 64, 201 or 202.
Datong City Transportation
TaxiDatong's city transport network is well developed, but strained with the growth in car ownership. There is no metro yet. Taxis or private transport are recommended,as bus use is difficult for non-Chinese-users.
Public Buses
Datong's bus network covers the whole city. The fare (of a few yuan) varies according to the distance.
Taxis
There are more than 5,000 taxis in Datong City. The basic charge for a taxi is 7 yuan within 3 kilometers(1.8 miles), and 1.3 yuan is charged for each additional kilometer in the day,and 2.6 yuan at night.
Private Transport and Datong Tours
Contact us for all your needs getting to and around Datong. We specialize in tailoring a China trip to your requirements.
Here are our two most popular Datong itineraries for your inspiration:
